Contents

Rider's True Name is Medusa, the Gorgon from Greek mythology. Rather than being a regular Heroic Spirit, she is an existence closer to a Divine Spirit, but her actions have made it better to categorize her as an "anti-hero closer to a monster."[7] With her older sisters Stheno and Euryale, they made up the three Gorgon Sisters who inhabited the Shapeless Isle. She was known as the "woman who dominates", an anti-hero who became as such due to the dark thoughts of humans.[8] Differing from someone like Hassan-i-Sabbah who was a hero who actually existed, she is said to be one of legends born by the gathering of belief.[9]

The legend of Medusa is different than her actual life. She was said to be a half-human, half-god female beast often portrayed with the form of a snake. Originally she was an Earth Goddess (大地の女神, Daichi no Megami?).[10] While all originally beautiful women, she and her sisters were hated by Poseidon's wife because of his love for them. Athena, jealous of their beautiful hair, transformed them into demons. Secluding themselves in a lightless temple on the Shapeless Isle, they only attacked humans with a reason. Eventually, as a victim of the gods' unreasonable actions, she was to have her head cut off on their whim. Defeated by Perseus by reflecting her petrification back at her with his mirror-like shield, Pegasus, the son of Poseidon, was said to have sprung from the blood of her headless neck.

Medusa and her sisters were born from the wishes of mankind for ideal idols, the embodiment of the yearning hearts of men. As "perfect goddesses", their "divine essence" was to remain the same from the moment of their creation to their destruction. Medusa was an exception who was a failure from birth, growing older over time. Though they should have all been copies, or even as close as clones, resulting from the deification of the same phenomenon, a mistake in her birth or something of deeper significance caused her to be copied imperfectly. While she did not embody "forever young and immortal", she gained abilities in compensation compared to her sisters' inability to even care for themselves. With divine powers, her Mystic Eyes, indispensable in protecting her sisters who could not live in the world on their own, this caused the previously united sisters to become three separate individuals. Although Medusa was different from the start, even the other two showed irregularities, their sadistic nature, from interacting with her.

She was originally considered to be a princess loved by humans, but Athena, jealous of their beauty, cursed Medusa alone, taking away her "faith from each and every person" and exiling her to the Shapeless Isle. Their love for her turned to hatred, and she was banished by those who had adored her. The island had nothing to offer compared to her days of luxury, and she prayed that none of the humans that now frightened her with their unwarranted resentment would tread on the island. Weeping in loneliness, she had no idea as to her sin that forced her to be exiled. Although her sisters were not affected and still greatly loved, they too accompanied her there out of caring for their younger sister. She was happy even on the barren island due to their company, and only had to fear the coming humans.

While they became rumored as monsters, her sisters were still revered by nearby men, while she was feared as a monster. Humans sought to kill that which had been branded as a monster and take away the goddesses, and after they began to also target her sisters, she decided to protect them while taking her revenge on the humans. Although littered with statues that had been warriors, they were harmonious for a time on the island, at one point receiving her Pegasus from Poseidon. Though bullied by her sisters daily, she simply moved about the island on days humans did not appear, hoping for the peace to continue. Repaying them in the same manner as they treated her, she killed many humans, simply hoping to be left alone on the only place she could exist with the company of her sisters.

Though she was protecting them from the foolish humans who sought their own deaths, her sisters warned her not to take pleasure in killing them. Using her eyes that were only a deterrent to sow terror in humans, she began to experiment in ways of killing them more quickly. Deciding to become a trap against those who would take her sisters, even they who had always been full of joy began to fear her after she started drinking their blood instead of simply petrifying them. The humans continued to journey the island no matter the infamy surrounding her, and she eventually became too ashamed of her slowly disfiguring self to appear before her sisters. Leaving them, she once again found herself alone, hungering for new sacrifices to replace her sadness and loneliness.

She grew into the Gorgon each day as her body, heart, and very being decayed, all backed by the thought of becoming stronger for the sake of protecting her sisters. Even that reached a point where her sisters instead became nuisances who were intruding upon her lair. They appeared before her after her full descent into a monster, lamenting that they had not asked for her protection and were just letting her enjoy what had seemed fun to her. Saddened by her state, they sacrificed themselves to the Gorgon because the sister who protected them was no longer there. Consumed by countless snakes without any trace of joy or sadness, they were ground into pulp and absorbed into the beast while still alive. Without leaving a trace, they became its flesh and blood, and it continued to thrive as the Gorgon sisters became monsters of nightmares and legends.

The Gorgon's notoriety continued until Perseus decided to bring back its head for his own fame. Granted five Noble Phantasms, he boldly traveled to the Shapeless Isle without any hesitation, only realizing his folly upon seeing the state of the island. He despaired upon encountering it, having decided that there is no victory to be found against the demon god, with his Noble Phantasms only acting as lifesaving equipment in the best scenario. Avoiding her gaze by focusing on his Mirror shield, he desperately fought to survive. Tired of toying with him, it used Breaker Gorgon, and he used the only possible method of defeating it, using Kibisis to have it encage itself.

Reversing the nightmare of the Bounded Field upon it, it suffered as Medusa as the nightmare reflected upon it instead of Perseus. While it was a "nightmare beyond nightmares", it was not an evil vision that caused excruciating pain, but a pleasant dream of her sisters, paralyzing her with the joy of seeing those she thought she would never again meet. Despairing upon the reflection of itself from when it was still self-aware, this allowed Perseus to have his single counterattack, severing its head with Harpe. The monster, out of its own will, became Medusa again and let itself be struck down. Perseus used Kibisis to hold its head, later going on to become a successful hero.

The Medusa materialized in the Fifth Holy Grail War appears differently to her legend. She appears to be in her human form, unlike her legend where she has snake for her hairs, she has long purple hair.

She wears an eye cover that seals her excessively powerful Mystic Eyes of Petrification within the Bounded Field. Her sight is completely sealed. Although Rider perceives the world through senses such as hearing, touch, smell, and magic-detection, she is able to acquire more precise information than sight.[11]

She has a complex about her own height and the way she gets embarrassed when people see her Mystic Eyes, she might actually be pretty ladylike. Because of her outward appearance and primary weapon, a lot of people thought she was going to be an Assassin class Servant.[12]

In her casual attire, she wears a black polo neck top and blue jeans. She wears Touko Aozaki's "Mystic Eye Killer" to disable her Mystic Eyes.[13] It only seals the power of petrification. It does not act like the Breaker Gorgon, which "seals all magical properties".[11]

Rider is silent, sultry, and vigilant, never hesitating to shield her Master from harm. She is always faithful to her Master, even with Shinji acting in that role most of the time. She is not openly talkative, and she prefers to analyze people and their actions. She is very protective of Sakura and willing to sacrifice herself for Sakura's happiness. She is very logical and she doesn't act out of anger or instinct.

In Fate/hollow ataraxia. After Medusa tells the story of her death to Shirou, she mentions that having her head used so casually by "an...adolescent..." angers her greatly. Shirou asks her to clarify, "You mean Perseus, right...?" and makes the point that he "can't call him a "victim," but it does sound like he got tricked into it." Medusa replies "I suppose so." and agrees that he was fooled by the gods.

While she does mention that in any case, she saw him as a "mere mosquito" at the time, and that she does not feel any sympathy for him, Medusa does give him credit; "Personally, there is no way I could bring myself to like him. Nevertheless, he did become a fine character afterwards." However right after she said this, when Shirou asks what Perseus was like, she insults him by calling him a "successful Shinji."[14]

In Fate/Grand Order Material, Medusa has a line about Perseus - "If he comes I'll kill him."[3]

Rider's initial Master was Sakura Matou; however, she became the Servant of Shinji when Sakura, pressured by Shinji, yielded her Master's right to him. Rider holds no love for Shinji, seeing him as vile and predatory, but obeys his commands as a dutiful Servant. Because of their similar backgrounds, she is empathetic of Sakura, and seeks to protect her whenever possible. Like many of the Servants who participated in the 5th Holy Grail War, Rider has no motivation for seeking the Holy Grail.

Although regarded as one of the more powerful Servants of the 5th Holy Grail War, Rider is eliminated in almost every scenario. She is obliterated by Saber's Excalibur in Fate, and killed early on in Unlimited Blade Works by Caster's master, Souichirou Kuzuki.

During Fate/hollow ataraxia, Rider is often found in the Emiya Houshold, always engaging in her passion for reading. She has a tentative relationship with Shirou(actually Avenger in disguise) in which they spend time reading together in her room. She has a part-time job in the marketplace, and tends to go out on her own for entertainment, revealing her fondness of the pool in Shinto. Despite having become more open with people, it is obvious that her actions are mostly done with Sakura in mind, going as far as to stop doing things she likes to appease her Master.

When Avenger realizes the truth and decides to end the ongoing temporal loop, Rider aids the other Servants in holding back the invasion of Shadow Wolf Beasts during the Fuyuki eclipse. In part due to her aid, Avenger reaches the Grail and sends himself into oblivion.

In her Eclipse scenario The backside of Kibisis Rider together with Sakura appear both naked in front of Shirou and seduce him with their gorgeous big breasted bodies into threesome. However eventually it turns out that whole scenery is just Rider's illusion cast by her Breaker Gorgon as she was trying to get Shirou to pursue Sakura more aggressively. Yet in the middle Shirou realizes the truth and reverses her spell on her, in the end revealing that Rider herself has deep feelings for Shirou. Apparently embarrassed by the whole situation, Rider erased the whole dream from Shirou's mind and upon finally waking up Shirou has no recollection of the event, although Rider obviously does. She contemplates acting on the feelings she came to terms with in the dream, but stands aside for Sakura's sake once more.

In Fate/Unlimited Codes, she is known as the Bewitching Black Serpent (妖艶なる黒き蛇, Yōen'naru Kuroki Hebi?).

Her arcade story follow closely to the Heaven's Feel route. As Sakura removed her Command Spells, the connection between the two has been disconnected and Rider is free. Sakura requested Rider to protect Shirou and to form a contract with him. Rider decided to fulfill her final request before Sakura consumed by the Grail. As she is still strong with the mana Sakura provided, she was prepared to fade from this world. However Rider decided to fulfill her duty as Sakura's Servant.

Rider encounters Caster in her mid-fight in Ryuudou Temple. Caster greets her intruder and asks her reason to fight as she considers Rider, a stray Servant who has been thrown out by her Master like yesterday's trash. Rider states she wants the Holy Grail and questions Caster if there is any difference in whether a human or a Servant wants to get their hands on the Holy Grail. Caster replies that as long as the wish is sincere and she can tell that Rider is willing to do whatever it takes to get a hold of it. But Caster considers this is not enough reason to fight, therefore, there must have other reason why Rider desires the Grail. Caster reasoned that Rider might be devoted to the ritual itself. Rider decided to defeat Caster, as she would be able to use both white or black Grail too well and they never did get along.

Rider saving Sakura in the ending.

In her final fight, Rider meets the corrupted Dark Sakura and has defeated all the other Servants. Sakura would thank her but her body has not absorb the souls of the defeated Servants and she see Rider's eyes as if they are housing a great deal of power. Rider confirms that she has stored the souls of the Servants in order to use the most powerful versions of Breaker Gorgon and Blood Fort Andromeda. Sakura asked Rider to hurry up and present them to her so she can finish the ritual, she wanted to hold on to Rider's head. Rider doesn't deny that she has already exceeded her limits. Her body will not last much longer than a few more minutes. She believe it to be acceptable compensation to cancel the ritual before Sakura completely turn into the Grail. Sakura ask Rider to stop speaking, she will even forgive Rider if she stops and even heal her body. Sakura was madden when Rider wants to stop her and questions why everybody turned their back on her.

After Sakura was defeated, the Holy Grail becomes complete when the souls of the Servants are offered to it. So if all of the souls are used for something else, and not offered to the Grail. The ritual will end without the Holy Grail Vessel being damaged. It was not the most elegant of strategies, but it was the only way Rider could do it which she got the idea from Caster. As Sakura wakes up. Rider greets her with a Good morning. Rider comforted Sakura saying she won't be having any more nightmares from now on as the Holy Grail, or the Matou will ever threaten her again. Rider's body starts to disappear, as the Holy Grail War is over. Rider says everything will return to normal and she wants Sakura to live her life. Sakura apologizes and begs Rider not to leave. Rider is the one who is sorry, she bids her farewell and was so glad that she was able to save Sakura.

Rider's route in the game depicts her excited to start off her day with the hopes of trying on new pair of suspiciously tiger stripped glasses that promises to increase the wearer's power. However, she quickly finds the glasses have been stolen and the window in the living room busted open. Quickly concluding that it was a thief, Rider begins her rampage throughout the city, along the way recruiting a reluctant Archer, and failing to obtaining Caster's help.

Ultimately, it was discovered that Rin was the culprit behind the theft of the glasses and while Rider soundly defeats her after gloating Rin into a fight, she discovers that Rin's own shenanigans ruined all of the magical properties of the glasses. As Rider sat in shame of her failure, it is revealed that the glasses weren't power enhances, but breast size minimizes, a fact Caster teases Rider on.

Medusa appears in the singularity under name Sanada Medusa, where she acts as translator for her lord, Takeda Darius due him speaking only in roars. When she and Takeda encounter Ritsuka, Mash, Okita, and Nobunaga, Medusa translates her lord's intentions to the group. After the group defeats them, she translates Takeda's last words, and she feels relieved that the entire ordeal is over before disappearing herself.

In her first interlude Gorgon Bride (ゴルゴンの花嫁, Gorugon no Hanayome?), Medusa tells Ritsuka Fujimaru that her sisters have decided to arrange a marriage for her to tease her. However, she can only get out of the arranged marriage on the condition that she is already in a couple. So, she and Ritsuka pretend to be a couple while Romani records them for video evidence. However, their "date" is interrupted when a man tries to flirt with Medusa, but the man attacks with his friends when she rejects him. After defeating them, she thanks Ritsuka for treating her like a normal person.

Medusa leads Tamamo's forces at Mare Mellum against Nero Claudius's forces. She activates Blood Fort Andromeda, and commands Lu Bu to attack Nero's forces while they're weakened. After her bounded field is deactivated, and much of her army is routed, she personally fights Nero, but is defeated.

When palace alarms go off, Medusa correctly identifies the intruder as an Assassin Servant. She suddenly enters the throne room, and asks Tamamo if she can introduce herself to Hakuno. Tamamo however decides to introduce Medusa herself. Despite her dislike of fighting, Medusa recognizes the rule of the Regalia as absolute. Nonetheless she still looks forward to working with Hakuno. After being introduced along with the other generals, Medusa states the threat to SE.RA.PH should be dealt with as soon as possible. She tells Hakuno that she's glad they're Tamamo's Master, and tells them not to hesitate to call her. She then reveals herself as an Anti-Hero like Tamamo.

The next day, Medusa joins Tamamo and her forces in conquering the Neutral Sectors of Mare Mellum before Nero's forces do. A day later, she, along with Karna and Lu Bu, are celebrated by Tamamo for their numerous victories. she then joins in invading Mare Aurum which ends in Nero's retreat.

During Altera's conquest of SE.RA.PH, Medusa with Karna and Lu Bu struggle to hold back Altera's forces from taking Tamamo's territories. She later joins in conquering Mare Origo to stop Gilgamesh. After they return to Mare Luxuria, she, Tamamo, and Hakuno listen to Karna's report that Gilgamesh's bombardments on Mare Luxuria were part of a two-front attack by Altera. Medusa correctly deduces Altera is leading the other force, and questions why Altera needs a force in the first place. She then wonder if Servants join Altera because of her personal magnetism, or jokingly if AI in the Zero Dark are attracted to exotic women. Sensing Lu Bu, who went after Altera alone, is already dead by now, Medusa asks Tamamo for orders. Tamamo tells her and Karna to get some rest in whatever why they need to. After Karna leaves, Medusa tells Tamamo that she was more decent than expected, and reveals she would've killed her if she sowed chaos. Thankful that Hakuno is Tamamo's Master, she tells Tamamo not to become a monster before leaving. The next day, she joins in invading Mare Carcer.

Medusa, along with Lu Bu and Karna, invades Mare Aurum. After Lu Bu is defeated, she commends Nero for defeating him, and finds her to be a considerable threat with the Regalia. She prepares to retreat when Nero offers to let her join her side. While amused by both Hakuno and Nero, Medusa declines Nero's offer, as she only wants peace in SE.RA.PH. Nero asks her if she believes Tamamo will bring peace, but Medusa answers she'll leave that to Nero's imagination. She continues if Tamamo ends up being foolish ruler, she could assassinate her after she conquers SE.RA.PH. Nero asks her if she is still waiting for Tamamo to meet her standards for a ruler, but Medusa tells Nero not to convince her to change her mind. She is confused when Nero mentions an evil star, but decides it best to believe her before leaving. The next day, she helps defend Mare Luxuria against Nero's forces.

During the meeting between Nero and Tamamo's allies, Medusa states Altera isn't the only Servant under Velber's thrall. Referring to Altera's generals, she lets Cu Chulainn continue his report on them. When Tamamo asks why Lu Bu has been silent the whole meeting, Medusa reveals he has been like that since the beginning.

There are two Rider in the Capsaba Servants, one is known as the regular Rider while the other is known as Pegasus Rider (ペガサスライダー, Pegasasu Raidā?).

In Shirou's ending in G-Sakura route, Rider is an anti-SAKURA giant humanoid weapon called MEDO-SA (めどーさ, Medōsa?) built by the Dimensional Empire MATO (時空帝国マト, Jikū Teikoku Mato?). G-Sakura commented that both her and Rider have trouble with their family.

In Type-Moon's April Fools' Day 2008, she is a super heavyweight wrestler known as the Masked Gorgon (マスク・ゴルゴン, Masuku Gorugon?) in the T Moon Fighting Spirit (Tムーン 闘魂, T Mūn Tōkon?). A mysterious masked wrestler who hides her face behind a mask. Tall and silent, she has a powerful and skillful fighting style. She is polite to her opponents, and her modest character has gradually caused her fanbase to swell over time. She works in a tag team with Knight the Saber, and the pair is called the Golden Age of Fate Wrestling Federation. However, she had a different manager two years ago and her fighting style has radically changed since then. She is one of FWF's outstanding heels. At times she will propose unusual deathmatches in the style of a Gorgon, but not many in the FWF understand this idea.

She was featured in Kill Ciel (キル・チエル, Kiru Chieru?), a parody film of Kill Bill Volume 1. Rider plays as the role of The Eyes (ザ・ガマン, Za Gaman?), a target for the Cat.

She was featured in the animated film Papillon Shin-chan ~I call for sleepiness! Spicy shaggy Kingdom~ (パピヨンしんちゃん〜眠気を呼ぶ！激辛モジャモジャ王国〜, Papiyon Shin-chan ~Nemuke wo Yobu! Gekikara Mojamoja Ōkoku~?), a parody film of Crayon Shin-chan.

In Type-Moon's April Fools' Day 2015, Rider is in the Imperial Roma talent agency and part of the female group called Momoiro Hassan Z (ももいろハサンZ, Momoiro Hasan Z?), her class is Stealth idol (ステルスアイドル, Suterusu Aidoru?).

Rider fights with a low-risk and high-return type of warfare that is not fixated on the methods used to win.[15] She fights mainly with a Nameless Dagger (無銘·短剣, Mumei Tanken?) in close combat that is more likely to be called a "nail" rather than a "dagger." It is attached to a long chain that can restrain and immobilize targets that she pierces. It is not suited to short-range battles, instead best utilized as a thrown weapon from a distance.[16] It is not a Noble Phantasm, and while its origin is unknown, it is thought to be a weapon that reflects her inner character. She boasts outstanding speed, moving like a bullet and racing around the battlefield. She is faster than Lancer in terms of average speed, but he will surpass her in immediate maximum output. Due to her nature as a Gorgon, she has a monster alignment that may make fighting battles against monster exterminators, such as against an expert like Lancer, tough for her.[17] While she is normally blindfolded, she perceives the world through hearing, touch, smell, and magic-detection to have an even more precise outlook than with sight.[11]

She is a unique Heroic Spirit who displays a great variety of skills and Noble Phantasms that are particularly high numbered even amongst other Servants, all of which are traces left from her time as a goddess. Due to her status as a former earth goddess, she has a strong connection to the earth, sensitive enough to its state to be able to sense disturbances in Fuyuki's leyline.[18] Due to her contract being passed to Shinji, her abilities are lowered, and she must seek out alternative means of magical energy. While she takes blood for the most part, she is not a Dead Apostle, but rather a bloodsucker whose most efficient manner of gaining energy is through drinking blood.[12] Her main offensive Noble Phantasm is Bellerophon, which allows the Pegasus to use an extremely powerful charge that resembles an arrow of light. She also has use of Blood Fort Andromeda, a Bounded Field designed to collect life energy from whoever is inside. Once it is set and activated, it can instantly liquify any normal humans inside and convert them into energy. Breaker Gorgon is another Bounded Field that seals the target inside the user's mind. She mainly uses it on herself in the form of a visor to seal her Mystic Eyes.

Cybele (キュベレイ, Kyuberei?), the Mystic Eyes of Petrification (石化の魔眼, Sekika no Magan?), are Rider's Mystic Eyes, said to be a "curse of the gods sealed by the powers of shrines." Though petrification sorcery is no strange thing for modern Thaumaturgy, even if its users are rare and few in numbers, Mystic Eyes capable of petrifying others are something that nobody, human or not, possesses in the present era. They are designated as Jewel under the Noble Colors system, which surpasses the Gold-ranked Eyes of the Dead Apostles and are exclusively possessed by Holy Spirits and Magical Beasts from the Age of Gods. Their nature is strong enough a mystery that Shirou mistakes the identity of Breaker Gorgon as the eyes themselves.

Blood Fort Andromeda and Pandemonium Cetus are created abilities of the Mystic Eyes developed by Rider. The eyes, almost too abnormal to be called eyeballs, are gray with an appearance similar to crystals. Despite their abnormality, Shirou believes that they are too beautiful for any human to possess, and could either be art the gods admired or a nature they cursed. The corneas do not take in light, and the pupils see the world through a square. The irises are solidified, not allowing the eyes to close, and the millions of cells that make up the retinas are composed of the Sixth Imaginary Element. It affects all targets within the owner’s field of vision, regardless of whether said targets are looking at the Eyes physically, or if they have their eyes closed but continue to view her with their mind's eye, as it is a curse to look upon her in any way. The only way Perseus was able to avoid her gaze was by utilizing his mirror shield to find her location without looking upon her at all.

Those who possess Rank C or lower in Mana will be immediately petrified, while those with Rank B may or may not be affected depending of the conditions. Those with Rank A or higher won’t be petrified, but will sustain "pressure" from the Eyes and receive a one rank-down to all parameters. The entire body of the target will be affected, including clothing and weaponry, "killing them while alive" as they are turned to stone. The ability is viable in petrifying a group of enemies, but it would not be useful against an infinite number like the horde of shades spawned by Avenger. The amount of energy it uses is comparable to also fighting them off with her Noble Phantasms, so it would quickly drain her faster than simply fighting them off in melee combat.

When Archer, with Rank B Mana, is affected at close range, he instantly feels the effects. He is immediately is frozen in place, unable to close his eyes or cover them with his arms even if he wanted to do so due to being unable to move either in the slightest. He tries to charge at her afterward, but his legs are already petrified up to his knees at that point. He is petrified up to his waist only a moment later before the effect is canceled. Shirou and Rin feel the effects instantly when targeted further away, barely or unable to move as their blood starts thickening. It immediately starts solidifying the flow of Shirou's body and ceasing his senses. If he tries to run at her, his body is instantly turned to stone, and his mind swiftly follows. He is only saved when Sakura acting up causes Rider to cease her activity.

She is unable to control them in any manner on her own, requiring the use of Mystic Eye Killers like Breaker Gorgon or the glasses and contacts she later replaces it with after the Holy Grail War ends. Knowledge of the eyes render further attacks less potent, but it is not enough to allow Rider to go without Breaker Gorgon in their presence. Repeating the initial surprise effect would be impossible, making it possible to act without going completely numb and causing the effect of the petrification to go at a slower rate. The effect will be magnified again should the person's guard be let down.[19] It is possible to cancel the effect if it has not reached a certain point by closing her eyes. In the case of a lessened effect like when Shirou accidentally walks on her bathing, it starts to spread up his legs and is too far gone to simply close her eyes, but she is able to cancel the effect by sealing them with Breaker Gorgon. It takes some time for the petrification to recede, and she mentions that it would have been bad had it affected his heart.

With her Riding skills, she can ride on animals and vehicles, allowing her to mount creatures on the level of Phantasmal Beasts and Divine Beasts. She uses an unlisted, innate ability to bring forth the Pegasus given to her by Poseidon, initially thought by Shirou to be her main Noble Phantasm. It actually lacks any sort of name, and it is treated much in the same manner as her dagger. Having remained since the Age of Gods, its abilities are far beyond those of a normal Pegasus that would only be limited to the strength of a several hundred years old Monstrous Beast had it been one of the few remaining Phantasmal Species from the current age. Increasing in strength as it has lived, it has the strength of a Phantasmal Beast far beyond something like Invisible Air that could defeat a normal Pegasus.[20] If left without the ability to readily use a strong Noble Phantasm, it easily overwhelms Saber and leaves her in a position to only bide her time and wait for a mistake on Rider's handling.

Its strength is nearing that of the level of dragons, the strongest of the Phantasmal Species, and its defense has already reached that level. It is made of enough energy to have come from several hundred magi, and constantly emits it while it flies. It is a divine mystery with magical protection even greater than that of Saber, who displays the strongest resistance of the Holy Grail War, allowing it to easily brush past all thaumaturgy without issue. Not needing to halt its charge against anything, it is much like a giant castle wall crashing down on the opponent and leaving them no method of dodging or defending. Too powerful to defend against, even the trail of its charge is enough to damage a Servant. It destroys its surroundings just by moving, scorching the area around it. The buffets from its wings are capable of generating massive shock waves, which raze infrastructures and lacerate the bodies of living beings.

Despite displaying this overwhelming ability, it is a docile being unfit for combat. For it to truly attack, she must use Bellerophon to compel it. It is brought forth by slashing her neck with her dagger, allowing the blood to spray out and stop in the air to form a magic circle. The circle, which displays a creature-like figure, swells with a large amount of magical energy that makes up the Pegasus, far surpassing Blood Fort Andromeda. Pegasus then emerges from a giant eye bound by blood, and she can either immediately mount it to use Bellerophon right out of the summoning circle or have it fight for a time before strategically using it. Once in the air, she can constantly attack the enemy and move from their range without coming close to the ground to leave them bereft of any method of counterattack or form of pursuit, but its speed would make it impossible to catch even with a method to follow it. Preparing her final strike, she can use Bellerophon at any time to cut all of the its limiters.

Rider likes the recreational use of bicycles, but suffers from the fact that she endlessly accelerates to the point of breaking them. Even for a "granny bike" like the one used for shopping at the Emiya household, she could easily ride it at 100 km/h when it is only meant to peak at 20 km/h. She yearns for a racing bike like that belonging to Shirou that can allow her to reach even higher speeds with its gear system, wishing she could use Mana Burst to help with its control. If utilizing a motorcycle, she can match up against Grand Prix motorcycle former champion, Wayne Gardner.[21]

Hirokazu Koyama felt a lot of intense motivation to make the art work when Saber was chasing Rider up the side of a building. There were a lot of fine details in the drawing and it was a lot of work to get the scene right for him. They ended up with some drawings of Rider rising up into the air and falling and Saber descending. However, recently Koyama image has changed. He drew the image of the building as if it was crashing to bits, and in front of it he drew Saber using her Excalibur Noble Phantasm as it rose from the building. Saber used a beam to intercept the charging attack by Pegasus, but it was a close shave. If Saber had tried to use a melee attack, she would have been struck down. That's why he wanted to focus attention on the beam as it blasted off of the rooftop.[22]

Kinoko Nasu really wanted to have a scene in the Sakura route where she and Saber bickered with each other as they fought toward a common goal, but unfortunately the story didn't develop in that direction and Nasu had to discard the idea.[12]

Noriko Shitaya (Voice actress of Sakura Matou) said her first impression of Rider based on her first recording, to be scary and cold-blooded. In reality Rider turned out to be Sakura's most stalwart and dedicated supporter. Now Shitaya thinks of her as an elder sister. Rider didn't have anyone to rely on; instead she desperately tried to protect her own world. Rider has a big presence. Shitaya joked about she was not jealous that she didn't get an awesome Servant of the opposite sex the way that Emiya and Rin did.[23]

Legend
Medusa was a frightening female monster in Greek mythology. She had a nest of poisonous snakes for hair, copper green scales for skin, golden wings on her back, and eyes that would turn anyone that met them to stone.
The story in which the hero Perseus slew Medusa is famous even in Japan. It's said that Perseus' divine blade Harpe sheared through Medusa's scaley skin, and Medusa's head contained the power of petrification even after being severed.
Medusa was originally a goddess, but a curse by the goddess Athena lowered her to a monster. The story goes that Medusa, overly proud of her own beauty, desecrated a temple to Athena.
According to the Theogony describing the genealogy of the Greek gods, Medusa had a pair of twin older sisters named Stheno and Euryale. Together they were known as the three Gorgon (derived from ancient Greek gorgós, meaning "dreadful") sisters.
It is written that the aboriginal Pelasgians worshiped Medusa when she was still a goddess. After the Pelasgians were conquered by other groups, Medusa was demonized from a great earth goddess into a monster.
After becoming a Heroic Spirit, she retains her wholesome beauty even while possessing the Mystic Eyes of Petrification. Her flying steed Pegasus was said to have been born from a piece of her severed head, or created by her blood when it dripped into the ocean.

Tactics
Medusa specializes in close combat, taking advantage of her high Agility and Monstrous Strength. Her weapons of choice are chained daggers. While quite lethal, they are not Noble Phantasms, so it is difficult to deal critical blows with them when fighting Servants. Medusa excels in a fight using Noble Phantasms. She can annihilate many enemies at once using her anti-army Noble Phantasm Bellerophon (Bridle of Chivalry), which requires an enormous amount of prana. Additionally, she has several methods of attack that can be adapted to a wide variety of situations, such as Blood Fort Andromeda (Outsider Seal - Blood Temple) which can close off a targeted area and dissolve the humans inside to obtain prana, and Cybele (Mystic Eyes of Petrification) which is normally sealed beneath her blindfold.

Class AbilitiesMagic Resistance: B
Originally a Greek goddess that turned into a monster, she possesses extremely high Magic Resistance. The Magic Resistance ability that the Rider class possesses is weaker than that of the three knight classes, but the fact that it remains so high is thanks to Medusa's inherently high Magic Resistance.
Rank B Magic Resistance easily nullifies spells of three bars or less. It is also difficult to damage Medusa with even high thaumaturgy and grand rituals. Moreover, Medusa herself is skilled in sorcery, so she has countless ways to counter enemy spells. In other words, Medusa is excellent at fighting magi. Backing all that up is her Agility. Compared to Lancer who boasts the same level of "speed" she is inferior in sudden bursts, but has more endurance. Even with powerful spells, it is extremely hard to hit Medusa who will keep moving at high speed.

Riding: A+
As might be expected of the Servant Rider, Medusa posses a high rank in the Riding ability. But instead of covering only specific animals and vehicles, her ability extends to nearly all beasts, including Phantasmal Beasts and Divine Beasts. However, even with an excellent Riding rank, she cannot ride dragons.
The steed that makes best use of Medusa's Riding ability is the legendary winged horse Pegasus. Mastering a winged horse of the Phantasmal Species is a difficult accomplishment even for Rider-class Servants. When riding the heavenly mount that was born of her own blood, both rider and steed move as one.
When the Noble Phantasm Bellerophon is used, all of Pegasus's abilities are drastically increased for a limited time. Even in the story, this combination was able to toy with Saber by attacking from the skies, forcing her into a difficult battle.
Be that as it may, the only time Medusa was able to use Bellerophon was in her fight against Artoria. During the modern Holy Grail War which unfolded in a sprawling city, Medusa had few opportunities to use her Riding ability. Perhaps because of this, she was eliminated without sufficient chance to use her power.

Personal SkillsMystic Eyes: A+
Eyes that originally function to collect visual information are instead a method to impart magical effects upon a subject. Medusa possesses the Mystic Eyes of Petrification "Cybele", which are Mystic Eyes of the highest order. As in her legend, subjects caught in her vision will be petrified if their Magic Resistance is C or lower.
Caption: Medusa's Mystic Eyes of Petrification cannot be replicated by magic.

Independent Action: C
The ability to materialize independently. If the Master is lost (or if the contract is nullified), Medusa can continue to materialize for one day. Since Medusa can also obtain prana by drinking blood, she can prey on humans as the situation demands and extend this duration.
Caption: Thanks to Independent Action, Medusa was able to return to Sakura after Matou Shinji was defeated.

Monstrous Strength: B
Medusa has this skill due to her property as a monster despite being a Heroic Spirit. If used, she can temporarily magnify her Strength. This is a necessary skill to Medusa, who does not fight with Noble Phantasms in close combat. It has many uses with her chained daggers, such as forcibly dragging an impaled opponent around.
Caption: Medusa possesses high close combat ability thanks to Monstrous Strength.

Divinity: E-
In Greek mythology, Medusa was once a beautiful goddess, so she originally has very high Divinity. However, because she later became a monster, she is an unusual being possessing the "monstrous" attribute that is antithetical to normal Heroic Spirits. Thanks to this, Medusa manifests as both a goddess with Riding, and a monster possessing Mystic Eyes, Monstrous Strength and so forth. Nonetheless, her aptitude as a goddess Divine Spirit is mostly degraded.
However, her Divinity has not been completely eliminated, and it appears that she still has it.

One of Medusa's anti-personnel Noble Phantasms, Breaker Gorgon is the counterpart Bounded Field thaumaturgy to Blood Fort Andromeda. While the target's consciousness is sealed within Medusa's mind, the target can be prevented from activating any abilities. Also, Medusa primarily uses somewhat weak Noble Phantasm not on others, but on herself to seal her Mystic Eyes of Petrification that are normally always active.
Though mainly used to seal Mystic Eyes, its original use is obviously to exert a degree of mind control on the opponent. Actually, when she took control of enemy Master Emiya Shirou's mind and gave him erotic dreams, she was actually trying to extract prana from him. Also, it requires only a steady stream of prana to have an effect. It is difficult for individuals with low magic resistance to notice it, much less avoid it.

Medusa's most powerful attack. It is not a Noble Phantasm to be used in a one-on-one fight, but rather an "anti-army Noble Phantasm" that can cut down enemies in a wide area. An uncommon type of Noble Phantasm consisting of a paired bridle and whip, it can rapidly augment the abilities of Phantasmal Species. In battle, the strengthened Phantasmal Beast and Medusa fight as one.
Bellerophon is extraordinarily powerful whether used defensively or offensively. However, during the Holy Grail War, it could not display its merit when matched against the more powerful Noble Phantasm wielded by Artoria. Nonetheless, the fact alone that it temporarily withstood a full frontal attack by Excalibur is evidence of its great power.

One of Medusa's Noble Phantasms, Blood Fort Andromeda is the counterpart Bounded Field thaumaturgy to Breaker Gorgon. It takes the form of magic circles placed as predetermined points. Immediately following the placing of these circles, people within the affected area will only have their life force sapped slightly, but once the field is activated, they will be quickly dissolved. However, it is difficult to affect people with knowledge of thaumaturgy. Thus, it is not a Noble Phantasm to be used for combat, but rather a Bounded Field created by Medusa to efficiently gather blood to drink for prana.
In the Holy Grail War, Blood Fort Andromeda was deployed at Homurahara Academy and activated. From outside the field, the school appeared normal as usual, but the interior was stained with blood, as its name suggests.

Profile
The youngest of the Gorgon Sisters that appears in Greek Mythology.
Originally an aboriginal Earth Mother Deity, but she had to run away to a shapeless island because of the Olympian Gods's stratagem and people's fanaticism. Once described as a snake monster that turns everything she sees into stone.

Level 1 Bond
Height/Weight: 172cm・57kg
Source: Greek mythology
Region: Greece, Shapeless Isle
Alignment: Chaotic Good Gender: Female
This height is merely from the time of her summoning.
The one from the Mythological Age is unknown.

Level 2 Bond
Despite being a beauty, she tends to appear to have a merciless personality because of her thorny aura and cold behavior. But in fact simply a languorous beautiful woman who prefers to spend her time doing nothing. Loves alcohol and reading.
Her behavior is severe because she is indifferent about being appreciated by others.

Level 3 Bond
"Bridle of Chivalry"
Rank: A+ Type: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm
Bellerophon.
In myths, it has been said that the hero Perseus beheaded the female monster Medusa and the flying horse Pegasus appeared from her blood.
Just like in legends, Medusa summons the Pegasus by using her own blood as a catalyst and rides it.

Level 4 Bond

Mystic Eyes: A+

Possession of mystic eyes of the highest level, Kybele.
Unconditionally petrifies those with low magical power, and even those with high can be petrified if they are negligent.
Normally sealed away by Breaker Gorgon - Self-Seal・Temple of Darkness.

Level 5 Bond
A beautiful woman with a tall figure and outstanding style, but since for Medusa the criteria for beauty is "being small and lovely", seems she has a complex over her tall figure and mature style.

Interlude
Among the Three Gorgon Sisters, she is the only goddess that ended up "growing".
Despite also possessing the components to grow from a goddess that is merely loved by the people into a goddess that saves (rules) the people, she was tainted by hatred due to the persecution from humans and ended up becoming a hero-killing Magic Beast in result.
Gorgon is the name of a mere shadow of a former goddess that ended up growing, enlarging to the limits.

Magical Beasts
An umbrella term that encompasses all beasts that do not fall within the normal ecosystem. In this context, “beast” is a thaumaturgical term, and does not necessarily mean quadrupedal mammals. Magical Beasts cannot be explained by immature research or sudden mutations. They are true deviations from biology. Roughly Magical Beasts can be classified into Monstrous Beasts -> Phantasmal Beasts -> Divine Beasts in ascending order towards higher existence.
Most Magical Beasts have existed since the Age of Gods, and are Chimeras formed from mixing different species. They live on currently undeveloped lands that cannot be reached by mankind. Furthermore, Phantasmal Beasts that have existed in the past have almost all migrated to a different world presented as the “Inside of the World”.
Although classified as a Monstrous Beast, the Pegasus that Rider mounted in the story is an existence closer to that of a Phantasmal Beast due to surviving over a very long period of time. Also worth mentioning is that, Phantasmal Beasts that have survived over thousands of years are on the same tier as True Magic, thus rendering mysteries on the level of sorcery completely ineffective against them.

The Pinnacle of Phantasmal Species – Dragons

Dragons, or Magical Beasts similar to Dragons, have members in all classes of Magical Beasts (Monstrous, Phantasmal, and Divine Beasts). Dragons are always thought to be the greatest species within their corresponding classes. Because there are dragons of the Monstrous, Phantasmal, and Divine classes, they have been involved with mankind since before the Age of Gods. They have also left many legends in the field of thaumaturgy.

A Heroic Spirit with a Rank in Monster ∙ Magical Beast

Because Rider’s true identity is Medusa, she possesses a rank of Monster ∙ Magical Beast. As a result, the rank of her Divinity decreased to the lowest value of E-. As compensation, she received the ability of Monsters and Magical Beasts, Monstrous Strength.

Medusa
Rider is more of a Divine Spirit than a Heroic Spirit. Yet, it is better to call her “an anti-hero closer to a monster” instead of a Divine Spirit. Because she possesses a rank as a monster, Rider is very incompatible with Servants who fought off monsters in their tales.

Anti-Heroes [Others]
People who are hated, yet the result of their atrocities ultimately saved others. They are the ones who define "good" with "evil".
Although they are the targets of curses, they are still worshiped as messiahs.
They are the anti-heroes.
However, true anti-heroes do not exist.
Ultimately they only reach the level of "individuals who did good while carrying out evil" (stopping short of being true anti-hero).
Assassin and Archer fall into this category.
Rider and Caster are not true Heroic Spirits, but they are not true anti-heroes either.

Difference between Heroic Spirits and Servants
Heroic Spirits were Heroes who have left behind great feats in legends after death and become subjects of belief.
Normally, a Heroic Spirit is summoned by the world as power that protects humans.
The ones summoned by humans are Servants. However, Heroic Spirits cannot be controlled by humans, and to summon them, the Holy Grail or something with power of that sort must be used.
The Servant system of Fuyuki summons Heroic Spirits with the power of the Greater Grail. Heroic Spirits summoned as Servants are like "emanations", copies created using the information of the main body of the Heroic Servant.

•Birth of Heroic Spirits
It's been explained that Heroic Spirits are beings that heroes whom belief has been gathered upon become after death, but heroes of myths and legends can be born by the gathering of belief even if they didn't exist. Also, there are those who those who make a contract of some sort with the world when they were alive and as compensation become Heroic Spirits after death. In the Fifth War, Hasan Sabaha was a hero that actually existed, and Herakles and Medusa are ones of legends. Also, Emiya and Artoria are beings that became (or will become) Heroic Spirits after their contract with the world. Those who have become Heroic Sｐirits are freed from the constraints of time and are moved to the Throne of Heroes, existing to the outside of the World.

•Heroic Spirit summoning
Heroic Spirits are beings cut off from the time axis and can be summoned in any era, regardless of past and future. However, the only one that can summon the main body of the Heroic Spirits is the "world", and alas, humans can't summon the main body and can only summon their emanations, the Servants. Speaking of which, the information (souls) making up the Servants return to the main body at the same time as the death of the Servant, and the main body can know, as records, about the actions of the Servants as if reading a book.

Alter Ego of chastity.
C means cash, cool, and constriction.
In the past was entrusted the financial affairs of the Sakura Camp.
A complex of many goddesses, Greece mythology's female monster Medusa (Originally an Earth Goddess), Indian mythology's Apsara, the model that comprises Melusine from French folktales.

Class Skills
■ Crack Ice: EX
Cheat Skill evolved from Mystic Eyes.
Normally Mystic Eyes are invoked by "looking at the opponent," "eye contact with the opponent." Paralysis, Enchantment, and Petrification's effects are exhibited in this fashion. Crack Ice is "The space in Violet's field of vision is stored." That effect is paralysis. That is time stops.
Violet is the only one who can move in this space, humans are conscious and can figure out what is happening.

Personal Skills
■ Shackled Desire: A
A skill that increases physical restriction attacks (Paralysis, Sealing, Petrification) in battle.
However, "to tie" is a day to day activity, so normal attacks drop by 10%.

■ Transformation: A
Skill that allows one to change his form.
Violet can freely change herself into a fibrous shape. Strike system's attack damage is greatly reduced.
In addition when this skill and the Riding Skill and combined in such a fashion...

Q: Rider's eye cover, Breaker Gorgon, does it allow her to see what's before her?

Q: Rider's eye cover, Breaker Gorgon, does it allow her to see what's before her? Also, the Mystic Eyes Killer Rider is wearing, does it have a comparable sealing power as this Noble Phantasm?

A: Her sight is completely sealed. Although Rider perceives the world through senses such as hearing, touch, smell, and magic-detection, she is able to acquire more precise information than sight.
About the glasses, it only seals the power of petrification. It does not act like the Breaker Gorgon, which "seals all magical properties".

Rider [Servant]
Heroic Spirit of the mount. A type of Servant that requires high maneuverability, and tends to possess strong Noble Phantasms.
The Rider in the story is no exception, riding Pegasus and making full use of its charging power in battle.
Of course, Rider herself is also a unique Heroic Spirit, and the number of skills and Noble Phantasms she has is particularly high even amongst the Servants.
She is taciturn and lacks self-assertiveness, but that doesn't mean she is apathetic toward her surroundings. Rather, she's the kind of person that worries about things from every conceivable angle but hides it behind a perfect poker face.
Though parts of her personality are quite similar to Sakura's, Sakura is a commoner while Rider is more of a high-born type. Even her demeanor and tone of speech have a sort of high-class strictness to them.
With the complex she has about her own height and the way she gets embarrassed when people see her mystic eyes, she might actually be pretty lady-like.
Because of her outward appearance and primary weapon, a lot of people thought she was going to be an Assassin class Servant before the game came out, but nope, she's a Rider!
I really wanted to have a scene in the Sakura route where she and Saber bickered with each other as they fought toward a common goal, but unfortunately the story didn't develop in that direction and I had to discard the idea.
Incidentally, the lewd dream on the fifth day of the Sakura route was Rider's doing.
She is not a Dead Apostle (vampire), but she is a bloodsucker. For her, the most efficient, luscious way of gaining magical energy is drinking blood.

Archer vs Rider
Editorial department (Prediction)
At long range his fire won't work against Bellerophon.
At medium range the bow is really handy, and Rider who's inferior in skill only has her Mystic Eyes.
But if Archer's bow starts to get petrified, he can activate Unlimited Blade Works.
In which case Rider will just use Bellerophon and destroy him instantly.
He can't shoot them down but Rho Aias can buy him time enough to pull out Harpe and maybe have a chance at victory.

Nasu-san CHECK!
You would think Archer would have the advantage, but Rider actually has the edge at long range? Just like that question, their compatibility is not very good. Since both aren't fixated on the methods of winning, they'd definitely both choose a low-risk and high-return type of warfare.
Even if Archer takes out a Saber-class holy sword, he doesn't have enough magical energy to draw on to maximize it, so it'd be hard to for him to attack Bellerophon. What determines victory or defeat is whether Aias on its own would be enough to block Bellerophon perhaps...?

User: RiderThe weapon favored by Rider. Called a “dagger”, but it might be more accurate to describe it as a “nail” that pierces the opponent. Attached to a long chain, which can be used to restrain and immobilize targets that have been pierced. It is not suited for short-range battles, and is better off being thrown around from a distance.

Nasu-san CHECK!
The two boasting the most outstanding speed in the game. Rider, able to move like a bullet and race around the battle field vs Lancer, able to counter attackers with a lance with the speed of gods, while standing still. In average speed, Rider is faster, but in immediate maximum output, Lancer will win. While Rider has several different types of Noble Phantasms, Lancer also has protective ability from rune sorcery, hence counter measures from her mystic eyes. Against an expert monster exterminator like Lancer, one who has a monster alignment such as Rider might seem to be in for a tough fight....!?

Magical Beast [Others]
In the world of Fate/stay night, a general term for beasts which do not correspond to normal ecosystems.
They are divided into three ranks: monstrous, mythical, and divine.
The vast majority of monstrous beasts are crossbreeds (chimera) living in still-uncivilized regions, but it seems that those of mythical rank and above have shifted to the far side of the world.
Though the Pegasus that appears in the story is a monstrous beast, its long life puts it at the level of a mythical beast. Ordinary magi are completely unable to compete with something of this rank.
Also, beings that take after dragons are considered to be superior, regardless of classification. Since dragons are endowed with the characteristics of several species, it appears that even consorting with humans was not uncommon.

'Q: When Rider is on a motorcycle, can she go faster than GP Rider? Also, when she’s on a bicycle, about how many kilometers per hour can she go up to?

A: She’d be a match for Wayne Gardner. As for a bicycle, she’d accelerate endlessly until the bike itself broke down. “It would be nice if I could Mana Burst like Saber...” were her actual words. Thus, she yearns badly for a racing bike that can go even faster.